This invention relates in general to firearms and deals more particularly with improvements in a retrofit firearm of the type which comprises a proven basic firearm and a retrofit assembly which converts the basic firearm to a firearm of another type without altering the operational characteristics of the basic firearm.
The escalating incidence of suburban crime has created demand for improved home security weapons. It is generally recognized that a shotgun is more ideally suited than a handgun for use as a home defense weapon, because of the probability of a first shot hit, even in the hands of a relatively inexperienced person. The devastating effect of a shotgun at close range is well known. Consequently, an intruder is not likely to attack when confronted by a shotgun. Further, if it should be necessary to discharge the weapon in self-defense within a building, it is unlikely that the fired projectiles would retain sufficient velocity to kill or seriously wound an innocent person after passing through a wall of the building.
The relatively great length of a conventional sporting shotgun makes it difficult to handle at close range as a defense weapon. To overcome this problem retrofit assemblies have been provided which convert a conventional sporting shotgun to a weapon of military combat or battle type more ideally suited for use at close range.
A retrofit firearm of the aforedescribed general type and which the present invention is primarily concerned is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,123 of Swearengen, et al, filed Jan. 10, 1984, and assigned to O. F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc., North Haven, Conn., assignee of the present application.
The retrofit firearm disclosed in the aforementioned application comprises a basic sporting firearm or shotgun from which the stock has been removed. The essential elements of the basic shotgun, and which comprise part of the retrofit shotgun, include a receiver, which contains the gun operating or firing mechanism, a barrel which projects from the receiver and a trigger supported on the receiver for releasing the firing mechanism to discharge the gun. At least a portion of the receiver of the basic shotgun and its trigger are contained within a retrofit housing which comprises part of the retrofit assembly. The retrofit housing substantially alters the outward appearance of the basic sporting shotgun and imparts to it the configuration of a combat weapon. The retrofit assembly further includes a primary trigger and a trigger connector assembly which connects the primary trigger, used to fire the retrofit shotgun, to the trigger on the basic firearm, hereinafter referred to as the secondary trigger. Since the manually operated safety mechanism or mechanisms on the basic firearm must be disabled or removed before the retrofit housing is assembled on the basic firearm, the required safety mechanism is incorporated in and comprises part of the retrofit assembly. The present invention is concerned with improvements in retrofit firearms of the aforedescribed general type and more specifically with safety mechanisms for such retrofit firearms.